Gathering and loading machine



Aug. 7, 1945.

` F. CARTLIDGE GATHERING AND LOADING MACHINE 5 sheets-sheetA 1 Original Filed Oct. 19, 1942 Aug.@7, 1945.

F. CARTLIDGE GATHERING AND LOADING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 19. 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 A118 7, 1945- F. CARTLIDGE GTHERING' AND LOADING' MAHINE original Filed oen-19, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 5 Sheets-Sheet. 4

Aug. 7, 1945.

F i 1 l 1 l l l l l l Y l /NVENTOR 5MM @Mz/ge fr0/wy Aug. 7, 1945. ,y F, cARTLJDGE 2,381,109

GATHERING AND LOADING MACHINE Original Filed Oct. 19, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 /NvE/vrok Tram? art'dge ff/rToRA/Ey Patented Aug, 7, 1945 UNITEDl sTATss PATENT omer;-

GATHEEING AND LOADING MACHINE Frank Cartlidge, Chicago, lll., assignor to Goodmaturing man Manuf Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois @riginal application October 19, 1942, Serial No. 462,508. Divided and this application May 21. 1943, Serial No. 488,644

-4 oisans. (cl. lso-9.2)'

This invention relates to improvements in gathering and loading machinesadapted to load coal or other loose material atthe working face of a mine.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a simple and efficient machine of the character described,mounted on endless treads, designe'd to' operate in low seams of coal, and provided with hydraulic operating and control Idevices affording greater easeand flexibility of manipulation and control, with a resultant increased loading Acapacity over former machines used for this 9111110.

This application is a division of application Serial No. 462,508, illed October 19, 1942.

Other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is' a fragmentary top plan view showing the main part of the machine, with the rear l or discharge end of the main conveyer broken A away. and with certain other portions shown in trol mechanism therefor;

Figure 8 is an end view of the valvecontrol .mshowninFlgure'i Figure 9 is a side view of the -valve control mechanism shown in the preceding figures;

Figure l is an enlarged detail section of a part of the valve control mechanism; and l Figure 1l is a diagram cf a part of the hydraulic systemfor operating the tramming motors, and the control means for steering and proil and having an inclined gathering element or loading head (not shown) disposed in advance of said main frame, and aconveyor i3 extending from the gathering element rearwardly over the main frame and beyond the rear end of the latter in overhanging position so as to discharge material into mine cars or thelike. Said conveyer is of the single center strand endless chain and night type including an endless chain I4 having spaced apart flights II, I5 secured thereto and projecting laterally therefrom in opposite directions.

The endless treads Il, II are suitably mounted at opposite sides of side frame members I1, i1 of the main frame il on drive sprockets 2l, 2l

"near the rear end of the frame, idler sprockets 2|,

-2i at the front of the frame, and a plurality of intermediate bogie wheels 2 la, 2 la. Said sprockets and bogie wheels are supported on suitable shafts which have bearing at their inner ends on the main frame and at their outer ends in overhanging brackets 22 at opposite sides of the frame.A Details of the endless tread structure and its supporting means neednot be described further, as they form no-part of the present invention, excepting to point out that drive shafts 22, 2l of the drive sprockets 2li project outwardly beyond the overhanging supporting brackets 22, Y

.22 and have chain driving sprockets 24, 24 fixed thereon to provideindependent driving connections' for each of said endless treads from a pair of hydraulic motors 25, 25a mounted at each side viding high and llow speeds.'including the interlocking control mechanism shown in the precedlng Figures 7 to l0.

Referring now to. details of my inventionillustrated in the drawings, the main elements of the. machine consist of a main frame Il mounted ona pair of endles's'treads Il,

the embodiment of of the main frame (see Figure 6). h

The drive connections from each pair of hydraulic motors 26, 25a to its respective endless 'tread are shown in detail in Figures. 1 and 8. Each pair of said motors are connected to oppoLf site ends of a common drive shaft 26 extending between them. in a casing 2l, and having a worm 2l thereon meshing with a worm gear 29 on shaft Il. The shaft 3l also has bearing in casing 2l, -with its outer end extending beyond the latter, and having a chairrsprocketf il fixed thereon. A chain $2 connects sprocket; 3l with the drive sprocket 2l of the endlesstread. As will hereinafter more fully appear, the hydraulic motors Il, 25a are arrangedJo be operated either singly,

or. both at one low speed drive for their respective treads.

Na from a pair of pumps-4.33, 31a mounted at opposite sides of the main frame rearwardly of the endless treads. Bald pumps may be of any well kn( wn form. such as the gear type, and are driven from an' electric motor 3l mounted at the time,.so as to providehigh and Hydraulic power is supplied to the motors 2i,

sprocket by a pair of continuous chains I1, I1, passing over sprockets Il, Il of drive shafts Il, of said pumps, as shown in Figure 4. Bimilarly. the chains I1 drive another hydraulic pump 4l, disposed above one of the pumps 2l, and providing i'iuid pressure for other hydraulically operated power devices of the machine, as will present appear. As shown in Hgure 4, the chains I1, '31 are engaged by a pair of idler rollers Il. 4| at opposite sides of the drive sprocket 83, so as to increase the wrap of said chains over the latter.

The hydraulic drivesystem and valve control means for propelling andsteering the machine by means of the two endless treads Il. will assises treadildrivenbysuchpaireanbeselectively operated forwardly or in reverse, either by one however, it will 4be seen that they are connectedA in parallel with each other so that the output of their supply pump will be equally divided benow be described in connection with Figures 8 to 10, showing details-of the hydraulic valve control means, and Figure 11, showing a diagram of the hydraulic system associated therewith.

As previously mentioned. each endless tread is driven individually from a pair of hydraulic motors 2l, 25a, which are connected to opposite ends of the drive shaft 2t of the drive gearing. and are arranged to be driven either singly or both at one time, so as to provide high and low speed drive for their respective treads. For this purpose, the two pairs of motors 2l, 25a are reversible, and are connected to "the hydraulic pumps 3l, 32a in the following manner, as shown in Figure 11:

The pump 33 is connected by pipe 2liV to a control valve 20| which serves both of the motors 2l, 28a at one side of the machine through similar supply pipes 2l2, 2l! connected to one side oi' each of said motors, and other supply pipes 2M, 205. connected to the other side of each ofsaid motors. The control valve 20| is of the dual type commonly employed in hydraulic systems and having two movable valve plunger members 208 and 201, each movable into three positions. so that in one position. fluid from pipe 28| will flow out of the pipes 2l! and 208 to their re-i spective motors. and be returned froml said motors through `pipes 2M and 20B to said valves,

and from thence through a low pressure line 2" to sump 2. In a second position of said valve plunger members, the motor supply pipes leading to their respective motors are cross-connected in valve 2li so that their respective motors are not driven in either direction, but may run idly, if the other motor is being driven. In the third position'of said valve plunger mexnbers,ft he flow of fluid is reversed through the motor supply pipes, so as to drive the respective motors in a reverse direction.'v

The pump 33a is connected tothe two motors 2i, 25a on the opposite side'of the machine in a similar manner, by a high pressure line 2|! leading to a dual control valve 2li. having two valve plunger members 2|l and 2i1. Huid suplply lines 2|2 and lltlead from 'one side of said valve toopposite sides of one of the motors 2| while supply lines 2I3 and 2.15 lead from -the other side ofsaid valve to opposite sides of the other motor 25a. A low pressure' line 2li` leads from the valve 2| |v to sump 2li.

Itwill nowbeunderstoodthateachpairof motors 2l, 28a may be controlled so that the selectively operated either with a relatively high speed, low torque drive, ora relatively low speed, high torque drive. 4

The valve control mechanism shown in Figures 8 to 10 Vaords means for eecting simultaneous forward or reverse `drive of the two treads when driven either by one or both motors. and 'also provides an automatic interlock so that said treads can only be simultaneously connected either for two-motor or single-motor drive, and never for single-motor drive of one tread and two-motor drive of the other tread. l

The dual control valves 2I| and 2li shown in Figure? are preferably located at opposite sides of the machine (see'Figure 1) so-as to be adjacent their respective pairs of tread operating motors 2l, 28a for each of the treads Il, il. The operating plunger 2 of valve 20| is connected by an elongated rod in to s lever 22o notably' lever 223, loosely mounted near the outer end .of shaft 22|. vBald shaft has bearing in supports 224, 225 mounted on a suitable base 22C. A sliding clutch sleeve 221 is feathered on shaft 22| next to lever 223, and has clutch teeth 22| adapted to engage said lever when movedwto- 'ward the latter. A manual control lever 228 is xed on the inner end of shaft 22|.

The plungers 2|! and 2I1 of valve 2li are connected to levers 220 and 282 which are part of a second hand lever control device similar to that .lust described in connection with valve 20|. This second control device includes a shaft 23|. mounted in supports- 23|. 2n concentric with the shaft 22| of the first control device, but independent thereof. The lever` 2in is fixed on shaft 2li, while lever 232 is normally rotatable thereon, but may be operatively connected thereto by a sliding clutch sleeve 281 feathered on said shaft. The manual control lever 2li of the second control device is' connected to the inner end of shaft 22|. As shown in Figure 8,

the two manual control llevers 22| and 28| are preferably formed with outwardly bowed outer ends, having similar cylindrical handle members 22la and' 220e respectively, extending toward;

V be movedv in unison in either directionvwhen grasped by the hand, but if desired, said control'- members can be moved independently of each,

other. for steering the machine, as will presently appear. "The interlocking-'mechanism is provided to connect or disconnect levers 228 and 22| simultamously withtheir respective shafts 22| and IILsothatoneofthemanualcontrolkven 229 or 239 cannot be operatively connected with both of its respective valve plungers while the other handle is connected to one plunger. In the form shown herein, said interlocking mechanism includes a rocking lever 240 pivoted on pin 24| fixed in a support 242 near the outer end of shaft23|. A push rod 243 extends parallel with the shaft 23|, slidably supported in brackets 244, 245 which are herein carried on tlie shaft supports 234 and 235 respectively. A shifter fork 246 is iixed on the rod 243, and extends inwardly into engagement with the sliding clutch member 231. The push rod 243 is connected to rocking lever 240 above its pivot 24| by a clevis 241 and pin 248, the latter moving in an elongated slot 249 in said lever (see Figure l A second push rod 250 is connected to the lower end of rocking lever 240 by a similar clevis 25| and pin 252l moving in slot 253. Said last named push rod extends to the far end of shaft 22| and is slidably supported in brackets 254, 255, the latter extending from the shaft support 224. A shifter fork 256 is flxed'on push rod 259. and extends into engagement with the sliding clutch member 221.

The operation of the interlocking mechanism just described is as follows: When the rocking lever 24D is in the position shown in Figures '1 and 8, the clutchl sleeves `221 and 231 are both disengaged, so that thejvalve control levers229 and 239 will only be operatively connected to one of the plungers (herein plungers 209 and 2|.l) of their respective valves and 2| In this position of the rocking lever 249, therefore. the control levers 229 and 239 may be manipulated to cause the treads to be operated by single motors either` forwardly or rearwardly. in unison, or independently of each other in opposite directions,or stopped. When the hand lever 24u is shifted to engage the clutch sleeves 221 and 231, the control levers 229 and 239 may be manipulated in the same manner to cause the treads Il, to be operated either forwardly or rearwardly in unison. or independently of each other in opposite directions, or stopped, but in this case each of said treads are driven by two motors, so will be operated with a relatively higher torque but at a lower speed, than when driven by one motor. Thus the machine can be controlled and steered either at relatively high or low speeds, as desired.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore. I do not wish to be construed as limiting my invention to the specific embodiment illustrated. excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a vehicle having a pair of endless treads. a hydraulic drive for said treads consisting of hydraulic pressure supply means, a pair of hydraulic motors having common. operative connection to each of said treads for driving them independently of each other, independently operable valve control means for selectively connecting said pressure supply means to one or both of each pair of said motors, so as to drive their respective treads at different speeds, and interlocking means for said valve control means causing the two treads to be driven either by one only or by both of its motors, at any one time but preventing one tread from being driven by one of its motors while the other tread is driven by both of its motors.

2. In a vehicle having a pair of endless tread propelling devices, independent hydraulic drive mechanisms for said treads, each of said drive mechanisms including a pair of motors having common `drive connections with its` respective tread, hydraulic supply means for each pair of motors, having individual valves for controlling the operation of said motors in either direction, separate control means for independently operating said valves for each motor, and interlocking means between said control means for the two pairs of valves for both treads, affording simultaneous operation of all four valves in one position, `but permitting operation of only one valve of each pair in another position to prevent one tread from-being driven by one of its motors while the other tread is driven by both of its motors.

3. In a vehicle having a pair of endless tread propelling devices, independent hydraulic drive mechanisms for said treads, each of said drive mechanisms including a pair of4 motors having common drive connections with its respective tread, hydraulic supply means for each pair of motors, having individual valves for controlling the operation of said motors in either direction. and interlocking means between the two pairs of valves for both treads, affording simultaneous operation of all four valves in one position. but permitting operation of only one valve of each pair in another position, said interlocking means including a manual control lever for each pair of valves, said control levers being disposed side by side and arranged to be moved together in one direction to move one or both of their respective valves into position for driving the tread in one direction, and to be moved together in another direction, to move one or both of their respective valves into position for driving the tread in an opposite direction.

4. A vehicle having a pair of endless tread propelling devices, a pair of independently operated, hydraulic drive mechanisms of substantially equal power for said tread devices, eachv including a pair of motors having common drive connections with its respective tread device. hydraulic supply means for said motors including a pair of individual control valves for effecting the operation of each pair of said motors in opposite directions, two manual control levers, each of said control levers having direct connection with one control valve of one pair ot valves, means ail'ording operative connection of said control levers with the second valve of their respective pairs of valves, and interlocking means controlling the last named operative connections so that both treads will, at any one time, be driven by an equal number o! motors, whether in the same or in reverse directions.

FRANK CAR'I'LIDGE. 

